There’s a geologically interesting Chinese Wall that’s not in China. It is part of the million-plus acre Bob Marshall Wilderness of Montana and consists of a 15-mile, 1000-foot cliff of limestone that runs north to south along the Continental Divide. The last time I hiked along the base of the wall was in mid-June during my hike of the Continental Divide from Canada to Mexico. That time I post-holed through 4-12 feet of snow, so I wanted to return in nicer climes and for the opportunity of better photography.

Golden hour light in the Bob Marshall lights up the Chinese Wall.

The Bob Marshall Wilderness

The Bob Marshall Wilderness (or “The Bob” as it is nicknamed) is named after the founder of the Wilderness Society. An avid hiker of the backcountry, Bob Marshall spent his short life advocating for wilderness – so it’s fitting that his name was attached to the preservation of this land in 1941.

On my recent trip to this area in late July, I covered only a small portion of this wilderness, but there are many loops that can be taken from the Chinese Wall through different routes of return. The trailhead begins at the South Fork Sun River near Benchmark, Montana. It stays fairly level for the first 10 miles, undulating through prairie, lodgepole pine forest, and burned areas of the valley. In summer, the fireweed blooms fill the hillsides and can be quite spectacular.

Like much of the surrounding area along the north Montana divide, fire has taken its toll as the burnt hillsides attest (on my hike, a grizzly kill had occurred near the trail and warning signs alerted hikers to this fact). I always feel like I’ve entered Dracula’s lair when near a grizzly kill, so I stayed alert and walked quickly past. On my return along the kill site, I followed three grizzly tracks and a black bear sow and cub track which made me quite uncomfortable. After a couple of pack-bridge crossings, the route curves westward along the West Fork of the Sun River.

This entire section of trail is part of the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail, so CDT trail markers keep you on course. After passing a backcountry ranger station along the Indian Point Meadows the trail begins to ascend, at first gradually and then steeply northward. After a few last fords of the West Fork Sun River, the trail bends even further westward up Burnt Creek and then switchbacks up to Cliff Pass alongside Cliff Mountain. Views of the “Chinese Wall” begin to appear, and as you reach the pass at 7600 feet the 1000-foot limestone wall extends south and north for many miles.

Along the wall the trail undulates for many miles past streams, tarns, and through flower-filled meadows. The mosquitoes were never bad during my trip, but the biting blackflies and horseflies were tiresome. Side trails drop down into drainages and any of these can be taken for a side trip or a longer loop back to your vehicle. My goal was to hike to Larch Hill Pass or Spotted Bear Pass, but a nearby fire closed these areas to me. This large area of the Bob Marshall Wilderness is also a game preserve with no hunting allowed, so wildlife abounds and tracks are everywhere.

I spent a couple of days walking around the high country exploring, photographing, and just sitting in the shade reading. My return trip was much better than my initial one along the divide. “The Bob” is a lesser known wilderness area, but quite spectacular in its vastness, and “The Chinese Wall” is a place to visit time and again.

Need to Know

Information

Free permits are available at the trailhead and there is lots of information online. Camping is allowed most places within the wilderness, but some areas may be closed due to overuse, fire, or grizzly bear activity.

Best Time to Go

June is too early unless you like a lot of wet snow and rain. At this time it’s more like “The Bog” instead of “The Bob.” July is a good time to visit to view the prolific beargrass display and other wildflowers. August is fire season; so many trails may be closed due to forest fires in the area.

Getting There

From Augusta, Montana follow the Benchmark Road to the west as you and look for the Benchmark Wilderness Ranch signs. Turn left onto the Willow Creek Road, and after a few dusty miles of driving go past the Benchmark Wilderness Ranch and drive onward to the South Fork of Sunriver Trailhead.

Maps

I used the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture’s Bob Marshall, Great Bear, and Scapegoat Wilderness Complex map from 1990, 1:100,000. National Geographic has subsequently released their Trails Illustrated Bob Marshall Wilderness map and Cairn Cartographics offers a Bob Marshall North as well as a Bob Marshall South map.

Books

Hiking Montana’s Bob Marshall Wilderness by Erik Molvar, published by Falcon Guides offers hiking suggestions, maps, and elevation guides. An interesting book published by The Mountaineers and authored by James M. Glover is called A Wilderness Original: The Life of Bob Marshall. It is a wonderful read about this iconic man’s life and stewardship of the wild.

All images in this article © David M. Cobb Photography.

Editor's Note: This article by contributor David Cobb originally appeared in Issue 10 of TrailGroove Magazine. You can read the original article here for additional photos and content. See more of David’s photography at dmcobbphoto.com.